Can Downstream Waste Disposal Policies Encourage Upstream “Design for Environment”?

An Application of Optimal Control to the Economics of Recycling

“…This paper's results are restricted to municipalities with only these two methods of waste disposal-a simplifying assumption since, of course, other backstop waste disposal technologies (e.g., incineration) exist. 1 Similar landfilling/recycling optimal control problems are found in Huhtala [11] and Highfill and McAsey [9,10]. By considering the net benefits of waste disposal services, Huhtala [11] found conditions for an optimal switch from an old landfill to a new one.…”

“…(We have found Mathematica to be useful in this regard.) Using this procedure, to find t 1 , note that x(t 1 ) = 0, so solve (numerically) equation (3.3) for t 1 . Next observe that for t ≥ t 2 , c(t 2 ) = x(t 2 ) (since the landfill is exhausted), so the budget constraint becomes Y (t) = (1 + β(t, x(t))) x(t).…”

“…Another difference between the present paper and [10] is that the latter supposed that consumers derive utility from recycling per se, while the present paper supposes that consumers value recycling only indirectly as a method of waste disposal. Other approaches to municipal recycling are found in the literature, e.g., Huhtala [12], Calcott and Walls [1], Fullerton and Kinnaman [6], Fullerton and Wolverton [7], and Ley, Macauley, and Salant [13]. The empirical literature on municipal recycling is growing quickly.…”

Economic policy instruments for plastic waste

“…In such cases, a government may have to not only promote recycling but also establish and maintain a market for recycled goods (Sterner & Coria, 2012). In these markets, recyclers pay consumers a price for their used products that depend on the degree of recyclability (Calcott & Walls, 2000, 2005. Pittel et al (2010) also highlight the role of the value of waste in these markets.…”

An Economic Analysis of Mixing Wastes

“…ature has focused on green design and the explicit link between the decisions of firms to choose a given (material) composition of their products and the 'downstream' incentives for households to reduce their overall level of waste (Fullerton and Wu, 1998;Calcott and Walls, 2000;Pethig, 2001 and2003). These studies focus on optimizing the recyclability of products by changing their material composition or design.…”